In brightest day, in blackest night No evil shall escape my sight Let those who worship evil's might Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!
One of the most identifiable oaths, in all of DC lore, Hal Jordan, arguably the greatest Green Lantern ever his path and roots are illustrated in this book.
This is a mini-series that was released just before the re-launch on the 1990’s Green Lantern series. The story is by Keith Giffen and it’s a retelling with a slight reworking of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan's origin. The Story starts with a slight retooling of Hal, we see his faults in the beginning, and the journey takes us through, his metamorphosis into a hero. We learn what drives Hal, he works as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft, we see his dad die before his very eyes, we see him roll a jeep with his friends in it while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Hal finds the ring while in flight simulator upon which, the simulator starts to glow green and flies off the base. Hal lands near a beat and broken Alien Green Lantern. The injured and dying Green Lantern named Abin Sur, chose Hal to be the successor to his power ring. Hal is given the power ring and battery which in the shape of a lantern. Abin Sur used his ring to seek out an individual who was "utterly honest and born without fear" to take his place as the Green Lantern of sector 2814. Armed with the most powerful weapon, imaginable, the first thing he does with the ring is go off flying.
We are introduced to Legion, an seemingly unstoppable being who is enraged and made completely made of yellow. Following Abin Sur's energy trail, Legion found himself on Earth where, upon learning of Abin Sur's death, he set out to kill his replacement, Hal Jordan. When he found Jordan, his ring was depleted; leading Legion to believe that he had lost the trail. In a fit of rage, Legion sets out to destroy everywhere the ring had been. Hal went to Abin Sur's spaceship to recharge his ring, which then attracted Legion. Hal Squares off with Legion, unknown to Hal the only weakness the ring has is yellow. Hal detonated the ships reactors, and used the ring to protect himself, Hal believed that Legion was destroyed. Legion escapes to the moon, and then takes the fight to OA, the home of the the Guardians of the Universe, who are the founders of the elite force of intergalactic police called the Green Lantern Corps, whom now Hal is a member of. Meanwhile, Hal is been being trained by a Green Lantern trainer Kilowog, of the planet Bolovax Vik. In Legions assault on OA, he overwhelms and breaks through the Green Lanterns Corps defenses and kills many of them in the process, Hal and Kilowog were forced to assist in Oa's defense. As nothing seemed able to stop Legion; and it reaching the Guardian's citadel home of the Central Power Battery. Hal thought to cover Legion with mud so his ring could affect him, and shattered his armor!
Our Story Ends with Hal returning to Earth to face his Charges for drunk driving, and ends up being sentenced to 90 days in prison. One of the reasons I love this story was because it was my first exposure to Hal and many of the background characters. They take a solid hero and craft a story to introduce him to new readers in a fun and exciting way with out relying on cameos, and guest stars, and supporting cast to catch readers. Keith Giffen retooled it enough to modernize his origin to make him more contemporary, which does not offend long time readers.